In Wolves’ 1-0 loss to Manchester United, Gary O’Neil has claimed that Andre Onana nearly took Sasa Kalajdzic’s “head off” as Wolves had a late penalty claim turned down.
Raphael Varane’s second-half goal handed Wolves a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
However, Wolves boss O’Neil was furious that his team were not awarded a penalty in stoppage time against Erik ten Hag’s team.
The former Bournemouth manager was incensed that the away team did not receive a penalty kick when United goalkeeper Onana collided with striker Kalajdzic and failed to make contact with the ball, but neither referee Simon Hooper nor the VAR officials believed the game should be stopped.
In a later interview, O’Neil said that Jon Moss, manager at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), considered this was a “blatant” penalty and apologized for the decision.
After the match, O’Neil said: “It looked like the goalkeeper tried to take the centre-forward’s head off is what it looked like live and when I watch it now it looks the same.
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“I’m really surprised it’s not a foul. If you go for the ball and clatter the player that hard it has to be a foul.
“I’m not surprised we didn’t get it. I thought he was coming to the screen but he came over to book me. Moss came out and said it was a blatant penalty and apologised.
“He thought it was a clear and obvious error.”
Manchester United boss Ten Hag took a different view, however. “It is about the referee and VAR,” he said.
“I think the two players from Wolves come together and André [Onana] did not interfere the action of both of them. First was the touch on the ball.”
Clean sheet, three points and a win at Old Trafford
A Premier League debut to remember for Andre Onana 👏🧱 pic.twitter.com/dcS3lXfvLg
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 14, 2023
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